THE wife of “Malaysian Official No.1” (MO1) is morally and legally obliged to return the jewellery which were allegedly purchased with money stolen from state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), lawmakers and lawyers said.

She should return the jewellery to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) as the latest civil forfeiture suit revealed that the items were purchased with 1MDB money.

Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla suggested that MO1’s wife take legal action against the DoJ if the allegations are not true.

“But if she does not want to do that, then she should return the 28 pieces of jewellery, including a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace which cost US$ 27.3 million (RM121 million), to the US authorities for them to be delivered back to the people of Malaysia.“The chronology of the event showed that the money came from 1MDB, so it’s stolen money, and the rightful thing to do is to return them.

“She has a moral obligation at the very least, and definitely a legal obligation,” said the lawyer who has represented former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in several civil cases.

MO1 was identified as Prime Minister Najib Razak, who had denied any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

Malaysian Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali had also cleared Najib of any wrongdoing following investigations into the scandal here.

Haniff said those wrongfully named in any court action also have the right to apply to the court to intervene and have their names be struck out from court documents.

In this case, he said, those implicated can appoint an American lawyer and challenge the DoJ’s suit in court.

American actor Leornardo DiCaprio and Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr, who received multi-million dollar gifts from Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, have handed those gifts to the DoJ.

Haniff urged MO1’s wife to explain to Malaysians if Jho Low had given her any gifts.

“She should inform the public whether any of those jewellery are still with her and when she will hand them to the DoJ,” he said.

Lawyer and former Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff said the wife of MO1 must also cooperate with authorities as failure to do so can be considered as an offence.

“The first aspect of this case is within the context of a crime. When you talk about a crime it is an offence against the state. Those implicated must cooperate because failure to cooperate, what more to conceal, suppress evidence, is an offence.

He also added that the asset tracing exercise carried out by the US authorities showed that the suit was not purely civil in nature.

Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen also called for the wife of MO1 to publicly confirm if she had indeed received the luxurious pink diamond necklace from Jho Low.

“If she confirms that she has received the said necklace, then the second question is whether she recognises the DoJ as a competent authority in the 1MDB investigations.

“If she recognises the DoJ, then she must handover the necklace. It is standard legal procedure that all goods purchased with stolen money must be returned to the authorities. If not, the recipient could be charged with money laundering or handling stolen goods,” he said.